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Did You Know?

• Every 23 seconds, one person in the U.S. sustains a brain injury
• Over the past 12 years, mortality from brain injury has exceeded the cumulative number of American battle deaths inclusive of all wars since the founding of the Republic.
• Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a silent yet serious epidemic currently leaving 5.3 million Americans with disabilities. This represents over- 2% of the US population; 40,000 victims in Utah alone!
• 50% of brain injuries are caused by vehicle crashes, 26% by falls.
• In September 2000 alone, 8600 children under the age of 15 suffered a brain injury from scooter accidents... almost 300 children per day!
• Every 7 minutes, someone dies of a brain injury
• One death every day and one brain injury every four minutes can be prevented by the use of helmets in recreational activities, including skiing and biking.
• 80 % of brain injury victims end up in a divorce
• 75% of persons with TBI who return to work will lose their job within 90 days if they do not have supports.
• The estimated lifetime cost for each survivor of a severe brain injury exceeds $4 million.
• According to a study conducted by The National Foundation for the Brain, the cost of brain injury in the United States was $48.3 billion in 1992. Hospitalization accounts for $31.7 billion, and fatal brain injuries cost the nation $16.6 billion each year. We estimate that this figure may be substantially higher today.
• Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a silent yet serious epidemic currently leaving 5.3 million Americas with Disabilities. This represents over 2% of the US population; estimated 40,000 individuals in Utah alone suffer from a long-term disability from brain injury!
• Each year, approximately 567,000 people go to the hospital emergency departments with bicycle related injuries; about 350,000 of those are children under 15 years of age. Of those children, about 130,000 sustain brain injuries.
• 1 million children sustain brain injuries every year ranging from mild to severe, with approximately one-third of all pediatric injury cases are related to brain injury. This public health concern ranks as the leading cause of death and disability in children and adolescents in the United States.
• In Utah, during the school year 1997-98, there were 900 injuries that affected those from kindergarten through sixth grade. Of these injuries, 276 were possible concussions or loss of consciousness. This is disconcerting because these types of head injuries can cause long term problems.

Scope

An estimated 5.3 million Americans—a little more than 2% of the U.S. population—currently live with disabilities resulting from brain injury.

• It is estimated that one million people are treated for TBI and released from hospital emergency rooms every year.
• Each year, 80,000 Americans experience the onset of long-term disability following TBI.
• More than 50,000 people die every year as a result of TBI.
• Vehicle crashes are the leading cause of brain injury. They account for 50% of all TBIs.
• Falls are the second leading cause, and the leading cause of brain injury in the elderly.
• The risk of TBI is highest among adolescents, young adults and those older than 75.
• After one brain injury, the risk for a second injury is three times greater; after the second injury, the risk for a third injury is eight times greater.

The above was taken from Premier Outlook - a periodical about brain injury: Volume 5, Issue
1 Spring 2005